MUSIC NEWS: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015
ALANIS MORISSETE
You oughta know that Alanis Morissette will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at this year's Juno Awards. Organizers say the singer-songwriter will receive the honour during the awards broadcast live in Hamilton on March 15th. The Ottawa native says she's honoured to be recognized by her home country, which she adores ``so much.'' The pop-rock songstress has earned 13 Junos, seven Grammys and two Golden Globe nominations in her nearly three-decade career.
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BECK GIVES GRACIOUS RESPONSE TO KANYE WEST
Beck is taking the whole Kanye West thing in stride. Beck tells Us Weekly he was excited that West came on stage with him when Beck's ``Morning Phase'' won the album of the year Grammy. Beck says West deserved to be on stage as much as anybody and has put out many great records in the past five years. West told E! Entertainment that Beck should ``respect artistry'' and should have given the award to Beyonce'. Beck says he thought Beyonce' was going to win and adds, ``Come on, she's Beyonce'!'' Beck says in spite of West's dig about his artistry, he still loves West and thinks he's ``genius.''
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SHIRLEY MANSON, PAUL STANLEY DISS KANYE WEST
Beck may be gracious about Kanye West jumping on stage during his big Grammy win, but other musicians aren't.
Shirley Manson of Garbage writes an open letter to West on her Facebook page saying, ``It is YOU who is busy disrespecting artistry.'' She says West is making himself look ``small and petty and spoilt'' and Beyonce' doesn't need West to fight for her. Paul Stanley of Kiss sent a profane tweet saying Beck should have kicked West in an intimate spot and told him to get off the stage. West came on stage when Beck accepted his album of the year Grammy Sunday, then told E! Entertainment that Beck should ``respect artistry'' and give the award to Beyonce'.
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SAM SMITH THINKS AHEAD TO NEW MUSIC
Sam Smith is already working on his next record. Smith says he's trying to kiss as many people as he can so he can write good music. He says he's looking for ``a crazy love story'' in his life to inspire him. When asked what he looks for in a boyfriend, Smith says patience and someone who can clean his four Grammys every day.
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GRAMMY RATINGS DOWN
Did ``The Walking Dead'' eat into the Grammys?
The Grammys had their smallest audience since 2009, according to Nielsen. Sunday's Grammys on CBS had 24.8 million people watching, a dip of about 3 million from the previous two years. ``The Walking Dead'' on AMC had its season premiere at the same time. It had 15.6 million viewers.
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JUSTIN BIEBER STILL HASN'T FINISHED COMMUNITY SERVICE
Justin Bieber is blaming a bum ankle for not doing his community service in a vandalism case. Probation officials wrote in a report yesterday that Bieber says he couldn't complete five days of community labour as planned in early January because of a severe ankle sprain suffered during a soccer game. He provided a chiropractor's report as proof. Bieber also says he didn't do the service because he was busy taping several TV shows and being in the studio. His lawyer says she expects Bieber to complete the service and his anger management counselling by his next court date in May.
Bieber pleaded no contest to misdemeanour vandalism in July after he was accused of throwing eggs at his neighbour's house last year.
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BUDDY HOLLY'S BASS PLAYER DIES
Bassist Joe B. Mauldin of Buddy Holly and The Crickets has died. His manager, Burt Stein, confirms Mauldin's death but did not give details. The Nashville Tennessean reports Mauldin died of cancer on Saturday in Nashville at the age of 74. Mauldin was just 16 when he joined The Crickets. He's credited with co-writing the songs ``Last Night,'' ''Well All Right`` and ''I'm Gonna Love You Too.`` After Holly's death in 1959, The Crickets continued to perform. Mauldin served in the U.S. Army in the mid-1960s, then became an engineer at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles.
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JACK WHITE'S MANAGEMENT LASHES OUT AT COLLEGE NEWSPAPER
Jack White's management say White loved playing at the University of Oklahoma recently. However, it says the student newspaper publishing the private tour rider was ``unfortunate, unprofessional and very unwelcoming.'' The Oklahoma Daily published details of White's backstage requirements, including high-quality prosciutto, a New York strip steak and guacamole made with a specific recipe, but absolutely no bananas. His management says White does not write the rider or make demands, and the rider must cover the requirements of 30 crew members. The managers deny reports they ever said White would never play at OU again, but they do say, ``Now that it's out there, we recommend you try Lalo's guacamole recipe. It's delicious.''
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THE BLACK KEYS' DAN AUERBACH WILL BE A DAD
Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys is getting ready for diaper duty. His representative tells The Nashville Tennessean Auerbach's girlfriend, Jen Goodall, is expecting. No word on her due date. The baby will be their first child together. Auerbach also has a 6-year-old daughter with his ex-wife, Stephanie Gonis.
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APPEALS COURT REVIVES ``JERSEY BOYS'' LAWSUIT
The Four Seasons have had a legal fight they thought was over come back again. A federal appeals court has revived a copyright lawsuit against Frankie Valli and Robert Gaudio over the musical ``Jersey Boys.'' Donna Corbello sued them in 2011 for copyright infringement. She says the musical is based in part on an unpublished autobiography of Thomas DeVito of The Four Seasons that her late husband ghost-wrote. She says she deserves a cut of the profits from ``Jersey Boys.'' The appeals court overturned a lower court ruling in favour of Valli and Gaudio, saying there's contradictory evidence about whether Valli and Gaudio had an agreement with DeVito to produce the play in time to avoid termination of their ownership rights. The case has been sent back for further proceedings.
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BACKSTREET BOYS MEANT TO MAKE ONLY A 20-MINUTE FILM
The Backstreet Boys did not intend to make a documentary about themselves. Singer Nick Carter says it sort of happened when they were making a 20-minute promo. He says they didn't feel they needed to make a movie, ``it just organically did.'' They cover their 22 years together and don't shy away from the problems. They cover the stints in rehab for Carter and for A.J.
McLean, and they address Lou Pearlman, the mastermind behind the group who was sentenced to prison for an investment scam. The film ``Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of'' is in theatres now.
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ACM AWARDS MARK 50 YEARS WITH ``NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC!''
The people who put out the ``Now That's What I Call Music!'' compilations will put out one focusing on the history of the Academy of Country Music Awards. ``Now That's What I Call The ACM Awards 50 Years'' will be a two-CD set reflecting the show's 50th anniversary. It will include recent songs like ``The House That Built Me'' by Miranda Lambert and ``Need You Now'' by Lady Antebellum, as well as classics like Willie Nelson's ``Always On My Mind'' and George Jones' ``He Stopped Loving Her Today.'' The set will also include songs by Carrie Underwood, Alabama, The Judds, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Faith Hill, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Taylor Swift. It comes out March 31.
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STEEL MAGNOLIA'S MEGHAN LINSEY TRIES OUT FOR ``THE VOICE''
Will Blake Shelton recognize former Steel Magnolia singer Meghan Linsey with his back turned? Linsey writes on her Facebook page she auditioned for ``The Voice.'' She hints she may have done well because she uses a lot of exclamation points to say, ``Surprise!!! Check out the season premiere on February 23rd to see how I did!!!''
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THE REPLACEMENTS ANNOUNCE TOUR
The Replacements have enjoyed their random one-off performances so much, they're going to do a proper tour of clubs and theatres. The ``Back By Unpopular Demand'' tour will begin April 9 in Seattle. The band's publicists are promising the only sure thing you can expect at the shows is that ``the band will show up, plug in and turn it up.''
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DIANA KRALL MAKES A POP ALBUM
Diana Krall is taking on music from a different point of view. Krall's new album, ``Wallflower,'' is a pop record rather than a jazz one. Krall says she did a pop album because she wanted to work with producer David Foster and because it was the right time. Krall remakes songs by The Eagles, Elton John, Bob Dylan and The Mamas And The Papas on ``Wallflower,'' but she's not worried about her jazz fans thinking she's abandoning them. Krall says she's always seen herself as a jazz pianist first and some will like this album and some will not.
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EDDIE VAN HALEN
For Eddie Van Halen, making music is all about having good ears and a talent for experimenting with guitars and amps to create just the right sound.
Now 60, Van Halen says he's ready to get back on the road. His famous rock band has a new live album they recorded in 2013 that's waiting a release date _ its first live album with founding singer David Lee Roth.
But first, Van Halen is visiting the Smithsonian for a sold-out event Thursday to donate some instruments to the National Museum of American History. He will discuss his life as a Dutch immigrant who went on to create hit music and innovative guitar designs. He even holds patents on some inventions.